The city soon may have indoor swap meets and flea markets. City Council members voted to amend ordinances to permit indoor swap meets and flea markets to operate in buildings of at least 100,000 square feet in commercial and industrial areas for a maximum period of 10 years. Triggering the council action was a request by officials of Frazer Tembley Enterprises to open an indoor swap meet in a vacant 200,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by the Weiser Lock Co.

Finding fixtures and lamps for period-influenced interiors can be just as important as choosing the furniture. "The biggest misconception I hear is that ‘I can't afford period lighting,' " Lara Spencer says. "But the truth is you can find really nice vintage fixtures for the same as or not much less than some mass-market reproductions if you just know where to look." She thinks of lighting as the "jewelry" that finishes a room — "a fun way to make a big statement," she says.

At Europe's lively open-air markets and bazaars, bargaining for merchandise is the accepted and expected method of setting a price. Whether you're looking for door knockers or hand-knitted sweaters, seize the chance to bargain like a native. It's the only way to find a compromise between the wishful thinking of the seller and the souvenir-driven lust of the tourist. Bargaining can be fun if you learn how to haggle. Among many good markets where you can practice your skills are Amsterdam's Waterlooplein, London's Portobello Market, Paris' Puces de St-Ouen, Madrid's El Rastro, and the souk of Tangier in Morocco.

The Movie: "Pleasantville." The Setup: Siblings David (Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) accidentally step into a 1950s black-and-white television sitcom world, and their presence has a deep impact on the populace. The Costume Designer: Judianna Makovsky, whose credits include "Big," "Great Expectations," "A Little Princess," "Six Degrees of Separation," "Lolita" and the current release "Practical Magic."

THE scene at this Santa Monica flea market says it all: Shiny black Lincoln Town Cars and Mercedes-Benz SUVs have packed the preferred parking spaces. Vendors look as if they belong in Nordstrom, not under a tent in an airport parking lot. As shoppers wander the aisles, lattes in hand, actor John Malkovich stops by one booth and eyes a French Moderne-style desk from the 1940s. Too late. It sold hours ago for $1,200.

Thieves seem to be embarking on an anti-grime spree, some media outlets are reporting, saying thousands of dollars in Tide detergent is being swiped from shelves across the country. One Minnesota man stole about $25,000 worth of the liquid laundry detergent from a West St. Paul Wal-Mart over 15 months, authorities there say. Some stores, including a CVS in Prince George's County, Md., have taken to wrapping anti-theft devices around the handles of the orange bottles. Several publications have described the thefts as a widespread crime wave, even calling the detergent "liquid gold," but law enforcement authorities and some retail operators aren't so sure.

August 27, 1989 | JENNIFER MERIN, Merin is a New York City free-lance writer

It's possible to buy almost anything in this city without setting foot in a store. Every day from early spring until late fall, and even into winter, weather permitting, vendors on street corners or at weekend flea markets offer everything from underwear to lamp shades to telephone answering machines to jewelry to punk footwear. Plus fresh fruit, pretzels, frankfurters, sausages, knishes and franks. Street vendors set up on corners from Wall Street to the West Side.

They come from all over Mexico--by bus, train, car, truck, even airplane--to shop for bargains at Las Palmas Swap Meet in this American border town. It has become such a phenomenon that late last year, a Mexico City television station sent a news crew to do a feature on why so many Mexicans were traveling such great distances to spend their money at the Calexico swap meet. The reasons, say vendors and patrons, are basic--good prices and good selection.

"Watch for Fleas" and "Careful Fleas Crossing" warn the signs along the narrow two-lane road leading to this century-old northern Indiana hamlet with the hard-to-pronounce name. More than a million people from all across America beat a path here every year for the 43-year-old fleamarket and flea auctions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, May through October. Shipshewana, which is in the heart of Indiana's Amish country and was named after an Indian chief, boasts one of the nation's oldest and largest flea markets.